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☆ Biden releases plan to reduce homelessness as numbers match pre-pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Homelessness among veterans, for example, has plummeted as a result of federal leadership, and the country has also made inroads among youth, she said. The federal plan highlights racial and other disparities that have led to inequity in homelessness. The administration also announced a program to have federal agencies work with local officials to reduce unsheltered homelessness in select cities that have not yet been named. Homelessness has become a major political issue, especially in the nation’s biggest cities and on the West Coast. The local reports compiled into the national data showed the numbers rose some places and fell in others.

☆ San Francisco votes to pause policy that would allow police to use deadly robots
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco supervisors voted Tuesday to put the brakes on a controversial policy that would have let police use robots for deadly force, reversing course just days after their approval of the plan generated fierce pushback and warnings about the militarization and automation of policing. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to explicitly ban the use of robots in such a fashion for now. So far, only San Francisco and Oakland have discussed lethal robots as part of that law. Some San Francisco officials wanted to proceed with allowing robots to use deadly force in certain cases, arguing nothing substantive had changed to warrant a reversal. But the vote to advance the broader police equipment policy — including the ban on lethal robots — passed unanimously.

☆ Singapore and New York are the most expensive cities to live in, EIU says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

New York City, along with Singapore, is the most expensive city to live in, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty ImagesSingapore has once again been ranked as the most expensive city to live in, sharing the top spot with New York City this year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). San Francisco — which did not make the top 10 last year — is now the eighth most expensive city to live in. Japan's Osaka is the 43rd most expensive city to live in, a big drop from its 10th position in 2021. Japan's Osaka is the 43rd most expensive city to live in, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

☆ Elon Musk reinstates former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

"The people have spoken," Musk tweeted Saturday evening. Trump's account returned shortly afterward. Previous tweets from Trump's account were viewable after its reinstatement, with the most recent from Jan. 8, 2021, when he posted that he would not be attending Joe Biden's inauguration. "Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints," Musk tweeted Oct. 28. Twitter, founded in 2006, had its first profitable quarter in late 2017 while Trump was president.

☆ Battle over the iPhone app store spills into appeals court
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The 75-minute session was a prelude to an expected ruling by the appeals court, likely to be issued sometime next year. A so-called “walled garden” protecting the iPhone app store includes a payment system that funnels Apple commission revenue ranging from 15% to 30% on the purchases of some subscriptions and other digital services through its storefront. “The only thing that is kept out by Apple’s walled garden is competitors,” Goldstein said. Apple lawyer Mark Perry defended that walled garden as an indispensable feature prized by consumers who want the best protection available for their personal information. “I am too lazy to switch,” McShane said.

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk had a demand. On Oct. 28, hours after completing his $44 billion buyout of Twitter the night before, Mr. Musk gathered several human-resource executives in a “war room” in the company’s offices in San Francisco. But Mr. Musk’s team said he was used to going to court and paying penalties, and was not worried about the risks. Two days later, Mr. Musk learned exactly how costly those potential fines and lawsuits could be, three people said. The order for immediate layoffs, the ensuing panic and the about-face reflect the chaos that has engulfed Twitter since Mr. Musk took over the company two weeks ago.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Musk’s Organizations: FRANCISCO, Twitter Locations: San Francisco

☆ Boston is now America's second most expensive city for renters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

On top of that, new rentals that do become available skew toward the luxury market, pushing median rent prices even higher. One reason Boston is experiencing a spike in rental prices: there just aren't many homes available, Zumper reports. The median price for a one-bedroom rental in Boston jumped by nearly 6% in October to $3,060 per month. Move over San Francisco — Boston is now the second most expensive city for a one-bedroom rental, behind only New York City, according to Zumper's latest national rent report. And even though New York City still ranks as the most expensive city to rent a one-bedroom, median rent prices have fallen about 2% compared with September.

NBC News reviewed 28 posts about the layoffs that appeared to be from former employees of Meta. The outgoing employees announced some of their plans within hours of the job cuts at Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other divisions of Meta. Alex Leavitt, a senior researcher at Meta who uses plural pronouns, said they might write a book after a trip overseas. Former Meta employees will face at least some competition. The latest U.S. jobs report, released last week, showed the unemployment rate at 3.7% as payrolls surged 261,000 in October.

☆ Elon Musk might bring back Vine, a predecessor of TikTok shut down by Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The possible Vine revival shows the breadth of product ideas — including old ones — that Musk is toying with in his first week heading up Twitter. A person who works for Twitter said exploratory discussions are happening within the social network about a possible Vine revival, which was first reported by Axios. Musk also solicited ideas about how to make a revived Vine better than TikTok. But some said it wouldn't necessarily be easy to bring Vine back after Twitter shut it down in 2016. When Vine didn't take off, Twitter shut it down in 2016, prompting Pornhub to make a joke bid and one of Vine's founders to express regret he ever sold it.

☆ San Francisco Bay Area struck by 5.1 magnitude earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

SAN FRANCISCO — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 rattled the San Francisco Bay Area Tuesday. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 11:42 a.m. quake struck 12 miles east of San Jose at a depth of about 4 miles. The area is about 40 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco. A 3.1 aftershock followed about 5 minutes later, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

☆ How a digital nomad mom of 2 used 'geo-arbitrage' to save thousands on food and childcare while working from multiple countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Lona Alia and her husband are digital nomads, working remotely while traveling the world with their children. They save money this way through "geo-arbitrage," living in lower-cost countries while earning a US salary. Expenses like food and childcare are much cheaper in the countries she visits than in the US, Alia said. Nearly 17 million Americans describe themselves as digital nomads, a 9% increase from 2021 and 131% from 2019, MBO Partners' 2022 State of Independence study found from a survey of more than 6,000 US adults, including 901 current digital nomads. Alia says the geo-arbitrage of living in lower-cost countries has allowed her family to save "so much money."

☆ Republican committee sues Google over email spam filters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SAN FRANCISCO — The Republican National Committee has filed a lawsuit against tech giant Google, alleging the company has been suppressing its email solicitations ahead of November’s midterm elections — an allegation Google denies. “Enough is enough — we are suing Google for their blatant bias against Republicans,” said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in a statement to The Associated Press. “For ten months in a row, Google has sent crucial end-of-month Republican GOTV and fundraising emails to spam with zero explanation. Gmail rivals Yahoo and Microsoft’s Outlook were more likely to favor pitches from conservative causes than Gmail, the study found. Gmail is participating in the “ Verified Sender Program, ” which allows senders to bypasses traditional spam filters, but also gives users the option of unsubscribing from a sender.

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is telling employees not to believe “rumors” that nearly 75% of them could lose their jobs if Elon Musk eventually takes over the company's owner. “Please know, as we get closer to deal close, there will continue to be tons of public rumors and speculation,” Edgett wrote. There have been no plans for company-wide layoffs since then, he said. A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the content of the email is accurate. It’s unclear when Musk’s purchase of Twitter might be finalized.

☆ California enacts law to help LGBTQ military veterans
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO — A new law in California will help military service members who were discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies because of their sexual or gender identities to reestablish their eligibility for Veterans Affairs benefits, Gov. Gays and lesbians were banned in the military until the 1993 approval of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allowed them to serve only if they did not openly acknowledge their sexual orientation. The Department of Defense subsequently created a path for veterans who had been discharged under the policy to receive the full range of veterans’ benefits. “But many veterans sadly don’t know or can’t even access this important process,” Newsom said, adding that some veterans trying to reclaim benefits have had to hire expensive legal counsel and other assistance to navigate the process. “We’re taking steps to fix this.”The law will require the California Department of Veteran Affairs to establish the Veterans Discharge Upgrade Grant Program to help advise LGBTQ veterans who were discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and to help those who qualify to update and correct their records and access veterans’ benefits.

☆ Elizabeth Holmes requests new trial, saying witness went to her home to express regret
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-06 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Prosecutors highlighted Rosendorff’s testimony during their closing arguments to a jury that convicted Holmes on four felony counts of investor fraud and conspiracy earlier this year after a nearly four-month trial. The same jury acquitted Holmes on charges of fraud and conspiracy against patients who had their blood tested by Theranos. In their filing, Holmes lawyers said they had not been able to ask Rosendorff for further information about his reflections on his trial testimony for ethical reasons. Also on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila formally rejected a request to set aside the jury’s verdicts in Holmes’ trial. Davila’s decision cited Rosendorff’s testimony in support of his ruling.

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